Hunger Action Network Executive Director Mark Dunlea said Hamilton Hill Food Processors struggled since its inception, first trying to sell bread and jams under its own label. When it realized it could not afford to market the products, it switched two years ago to making meals for such programs as Head Start and the Duanesburg Child Care Center.

Organizers realized the job trainees, who were typically between the ages of 18 and 24, needed more case management than the small staff could provide, Dunlea said. The nonprofit employed two to three trainees at a time and three support staff. Dunlea said there also just weren't enough contracts to put the operation in the black, as it lost about $50,000 over the last two years.

Another nonprofit, which Dunlea did not name, won a bid to take over the program but backed out after discovering it would take a few years for the food processor to break even.

"We're very sad about it," said Dunlea, noting it was the only program of its kind run by the Hunger Action Network. "We just couldn't keep running it at a loss."

The St. Kateri school on Union Street in Niskayuna was informed last month of the closure and said it will contract with the North Colonie School District to provide the about 250 breakfasts and lunches for the preschool through fifth-grade classes. About 50 percent of those youngsters are eligible for the free- and reduced-lunch program. North Colonie also provides lunches to two other Catholic schools.

Jennifer Chatain, St. Kateri's principal, said that the school switched to Hamilton Hill Food Processors from Meals on Wheels two years ago because the parish, formerly known as St. Helen's, wanted to support a local business.